SALEM — Seven-year-old Zack behaved like a model patient, sitting calmly while acupuncture needles were inserted into his back to treat his bad knee.
And while he can't tell you he is feeling better, the results speak louder than words (or barks), according to Zack's owner, Katherine McAuliffe.
"This is the only thing that seems to work," she said.
For nearly two years, Zack — a bearded collie and chocolate Lab mix who goes by the nickname "Wookie" — has received traditional Chinese medicine treatments, including acupuncture.
His practitioner, Jeanie Marie Kraft, has been treating dogs around the North Shore for years, and she recently co-authored a book — "The Woof and Warp of Canine Pain" — about treating dog pain with traditional Chinese medicine.
"Most dogs are very receptive," said Kraft, who lives in Salem and runs Four Paws Acupuncture. "I've only had one or two that will stand up and shake the needles out."
On a recent morning, Kraft drove her blue Volkswagen Beetle detailed with paw prints over to Zack's house, near Collins Cove in Salem.
She began his treatment by giving him a cookie sprayed with calming flower essences, followed by a massage. Most dogs don't like to be needled in their paws or into an area with pain, she said, so she uses a laser on some of the acupuncture points.
"You just don't walk in with a box of needles," Kraft said. "I sit down with them first. I might give them a cookie or a ball and do a massage. I only do house calls so that I'm in their territory. To them, I'm just the cookie lady."
To McAuliffe, Kraft is much more than the cookie lady. Several years ago, Zack was diagnosed with arthritis and a possible torn ligament in his rear right knee. The pain was so severe that Zack wasn't able to stand up after a swim in the ocean or after a round of fetch, McAuliffe said.
"He used to get very expensive injections, but that didn't do anything — he was still limping," McAuliffe said. "I tried the vet stuff for a while and dragged him in and he'd hide, but he loves to see Jeanie."
Since the acupuncture, Zack's pain seems to have subsided and he is active.
"A dog needs to retrieve — that's his life," McAuliffe said.
Following Zack's acupuncture session, Kraft rubbed him with a strong-smelling Chinese liniment that helps with arthritis and circulation.
She also advises clients on pet nutrition, herbal therapy, Tui Na (a form of massage) and more. She said larger dogs are generally easier to work on, and hyper breeds can be difficult.
"I also changed Zack's diet because wheat and gluten make any kind of pain worse," said Kraft, whose husband, Norman, has an acupuncture practice for humans on Front Street in Salem.
Going to the dogs
Kraft didn't set out to be a dog practitioner, but when she attended acupuncture college in San Diego, she had a change of heart. She said her German shepherd was suffering from hip dysplasia.
"I was able to bring my dog into school and treat him, and learn how to use herbs and change his diet," she recalled. "The vet had wanted to put him down, and I'm like, 'No, no, no, no.' He was 13 and lived to be almost 15 — to see him rejuvenate, that was it for me. That's what got me hooked."
The majority of Kraft's work is to treat pain, such as arthritis, hip and elbow dysplasia, knee problems, degenerative diseases, and herniated disks. She has also treated dogs for conditions like seizures and allergies.
"It's not like a person where you can say, 'How do you feel?'" Kraft said. "But if the next day the dog is happier, walking better, seems more relaxed, is able to walk downstairs and wants to play, you can tell."
She said the concept of acupuncture is the same for dogs and humans.
"There are over 400 points you learn in acupuncture school," Kraft said. "If you're in pain, the Chinese believe the energy is stuck."
Kraft is certified as an acupuncturist by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, according to spokeswoman Mina Larson.
Kraft must continue to earn credits to maintain her license, so writing a book and teaching canine acupuncture was a natural move, she said.
"I kept having all these acupuncturists contact me all over the country wanting to watch me work, or they had all these questions," Kraft explained. "I said, 'How can I do this and at the same time do my continuing education classes?'"
She co-wrote "The Woof and Warp of Canine Pain" with her husband, and she offers her course as a distance-learning class for licensed acupuncturists interested working with dogs.
"I've always loved dogs," Kraft said, "and I like to work on dogs."
